The field of the invention is plumbing devices and the invention relates more specifically to devices for stopping the flow of water during the flushing of a toilet.
More particularly, the present device is mountable on toilet tanks having a handle on either the right-hand side or the left-hand side of the tank.
Occasionally, the drain line connecting the toilet to the sewer system will become blocked and, during flushing, the water as it flows from the toilet tank into the toilet bowl will have no means for leaving the toilet bowl and thus will tend to overflow the bowl. Although it would be possible for the user to remove the cover of the toilet tank and reach in and shut off the flow of water from the tank, this usually requires more time than is available and the result is the overflow of a relatively large amount of water onto the floor. This can create a severe inconvenience as well as a source of damage, mold and a malodorous bathroom.
Various elaborate devices have been devised to prevent the shut off of the flow of water during a flush such as those shown in the following U.S. Pat. Nos: 948,876; 1,956,087; 2,440,389; 2,685,694; 2,729,827 and 4,240,167. Unfortunately, most of these devices are not usable on existing float valve assemblies but instead require an entirely new toilet valve construction. It is important from a practical standpoint that a device be capable of being fitted onto an existing assembly. A major difficulty with attempting to devise such a device arises from the very wide variety of valve assemblies which are used in toilets and a universal device was not believed possible. Although most tank trip handles are mounted on the left-hand side of the toilet, there are still a substantial number of toilet tanks which have the handles mounted on the right-hand side. A device which is capable of being mounted on toilet tanks having the handle either on the right-hand or left-hand side would be far more useful.